CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! It's a cold, windy morning here in Cleveland, as snow once again has found its way to the North Coast.
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
REMEMBERING PAUL TAGLIABUE: When ex-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue passed the other day after a successful life and ripe old age, I got a message from Roger Goodell. Not personally, of course, because Roger Goodell has about as much knowledge about my existence as a mountain does about the comedic stylings of the late Foster Brooks. But I got a press release.
In it, Goodell says, "All of us in the NFL are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose principled leadership and vision put the NFL on the path to unparalleled success.
"Throughout his decades-long leadership on behalf of the NFL, first as outside counsel and then during a powerful 17-year tenure as commissioner, Paul served with integrity, passion and an unwavering conviction to do what was best for the league."
I guess it depends on what your definition of "best for the league" is. What about the league's fans? Tagliabue did what was best for the league's coterie of owners and, by any measure, was successful, helping turn NFL football into the modern-day colossus it has become with TV contracts that guarantee a massive profit before an NFL owner has to wake up in the morning. He did his job.
Part of his job, apparently, was allowing Art Modell to relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore and then delaying the announcement of a new owner and expansion team in Cleveland until the last possible moment. As long as Cleveland didn't have a team back in the late 90s, grumpy NFL owners could demand new stadiums in exchange for not moving their clubs to football-hungry Cleveland. Good for them. Not so good for taxpayers and Cleveland Browns fans, who got a hastily assembled leadership team that set the tone for the post-1999 failure the Browns have been.
Tagliabue ultimately did the right thing by placing an expansion team in Cleveland, rather than forcing another city to have football taken away and forcing the Cleveland Buccaneers (or whatever) down our throats. In my opinion, allowing Modell to move in the first place was a travesty, and putting the expansion Browns on a short timeline was the final insult.
Art Modell, Paul Tagliabue
Paul Tagliabue and Art Modell on a dark day. (Photo: Getty)
So, while Tagliabue felt he did the right thing for NFL owners, the fans were a secondary consideration in this situation. That's what crossed my mind as Tagliabue passed just a few days after the 30th anniversary of the day when Browns fans learned they had been betrayed.
I'm sorry. That's just how I'll remember Paul Tagliabue.
QUIT YOUR GRINNIN' AND DROP YOUR... EYES? During last night's Gang of Three, Lane, Pete, and I had a pretty good, raucous conversation, and I got to ask Pete one question that had been bugging me.
Various Browns analysts have consistently used the phrase "dropping his eyes" in reference to Dillon Gabriel. Not having played football, I was reasonably sure this phrase meant that Gabriel was quickly starting to focus on the oncoming rush rather than his receivers, which Pete confirmed for me.
The second question I had was whether this could be coached out of Gabriel during his remaining starts this season. Pete told me that it's tough to do that, especially in the middle of a season where a quarterback is facing large, fast humans repeatedly intent on his demise. So, it appears Gabriel is in "survival mode" right now with an offensive line whose tackles got schooled last Sunday. You can see it on tape as open receivers are ignored as Gabriel focuses on escaping pass rushers.
Fortunately, the upcoming Ratbirds aren't quite as dangerous as pass rushers, but Gabriel is still in a bad place. My expectations for further growth this season are low.
We also discussed the coaching staff's job security and the status of backup QB Shedeur Sanders during the program, which you can watch if you're interested. It's about an hour long.
VETERANS DAY: I never served my country in any other way than by paying taxes and trying not to foment a revolution. I've made various stabs at trying to be a decent citizen. I did sign up for the Selective Service when I was 18 because I had to during the tense days of the Iranian Hostage crisis. But the draft never returned, and that was that - I was off to college to chase knowledge moderately successfully and chase girls moderately unsuccessfully most of the time. So, today is not my day.
Today belongs to the veterans who have returned home from foreign wars, and to those who didn't. I'm not the type of person to go up and pester a veteran, thanking them for their service, because bothering people is not my nature. However, I do appreciate the service of all those who have served in the military, many of whom populate our forums, and I hope everyone who reads this Massive Morning Missive will take a few minutes to reflect on how fortunate we are and how much of that fortune is due to the sacrifices of others.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
CLEVELAND BROWNS STUFF
OBR VIDEOS
The Gang of Three: Jets Hangover - (youtube.com)
Browns 3D-Is SHEDEUR SANDERS' time imminent - (youtube.com)
OBR ARTICLES
Cleveland Browns Stock Up/Down - New York Jets - Jack
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 11/10 - The Race to the Bottom - Barry
Cleveland Browns Dillon Gabriel Accuracy Charting: Week 10 Update - Sam
Cleveland Browns: What We Learned From Week 10 Loss to New York Jets - Sam
Browns Kevin Stefanski has No Timetable for Shedeur Sanders Playing On Bubba Ventrone, Wolverine Praise More - Fred
OBR MESSAGE BOARD POSTS
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
The Process for a New Hire
Question for Lane, Is Stefanski as stubborn as he seems to be?
The Process for a New Hire
How bad was that sack that Dillon took at the end of the half?
About a potential coaching change
Question for lane-owners being patient?
Why no changes
Lane fu Do any of you know if
Just enough...
positional guardrails
Lane Follow Up
Fire Ventrone FU
New personnel on ST responsible for the 2 TDs?
Lane, How did the monday morning meeting go?
Firing a Coach doesn't always
Do any of know if
Kudos to Sam and all the content
Lack of development
New personnel on ST responsible for the 2 TDs?
Follow up on Haslam post game
QB coaching - Pete Smith
THE WATERCOOLER
Depo on the Watson Trade
Offensive play overall within the NFL
Order 227
OT: The Same Photo of A Gravel Pile Every Day
If not Tate at WR, who else you got?
Drinking game - " Better "
Hypothetical On the Browns Leaving
Brian Dabol fired
Things that make you say hmmmm…Gabriel
So… what exactly did they work on during the bye week?
The Edmund Fitzgerald 50th Anniversary
Off the Leash Race to the Bottom!
OT: Best Presidential Facial Hair
Happy Birthday Marines!
LiveWire Thread for 1110 - Twitter, Article, Videos
One Word Monday!
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Unique Antibody from Camels and Alpacas Could Be Used to Treat Alzheimer's - (goodnewsnetwork.org)
Planets may make their own water as they form — could that mean more habitable worlds in the universe? - (space.com)
Recyclers Switch from Smelting to Solvents, Recovering Precious Metals from E-waste with Fewer Emissions - (goodnewsnetwork.org)
The Lift has a valuable use for Browns fans these days, reminding us that everything isn't turning to crap just because the Browns are 2-7 and stumbling to another lost season. Other, more sober, people are out there doing good things, as we human learn a little bit more every day.
WRAPPING UP
When not thinking back about 30 years of Browns torture, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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